Injustice
by GrandOldPenguin
Summary: When the penguins learn that a female penguin at the Bronx Zoo plans to crush her egg, the team takes action across the city to save the life of the unborn chick. Note: This story promotes a pro-life message.
1. Gut Feeling

**A brief note:** The following story expresses pro-life values, something which I as a conservative American believe in. I realize full well that there are a range of opinions on this delicate subject, and acknowledge that roughly half of Americans hold views which are in opposition to my own. I write this story as a conveyance of opinion and to perhaps illustrate things in a different light. I encourage those who disagree to respect my opinion for what it is; in a civil society, we can disagree without being disagreeable.

* * *

Mere minutes before the alarm clock was set to wake him and the others, Skipper woke with a start.

"What is it, Skipper?" Private, awakened by his leader's sudden and abrupt motion, asked with concern. "Is everything OK?"

"Do you ever get the feeling in your gut that there's an injustice about to occur in the not-too-distant future?" Skipper responded. "Well, I've just had that feeling."

"It's probably just gas, sir," Kowalski suggested.

"No, Kowalski, I'm serious here," Skipper continued. "There's this sickening—" But before he could complete the description of his feelings, the HQ telephone rang. "It's way too early to be taking phone calls," Skipper said as he pointed in the direction of the telephone. "Kowalski, you go handle it."

With that, Kowalski stretched his flippers and waddled over to the telephone, picking it up on the fifth ring. Meanwhile, Skipper, Rico, and Private made their way over to the table to get ready for their breakfast: cold, tasty catfish left over from the night before.

After getting it out of the refrigerator, Skipper noticed Kowalski, still on the phone, gesturing for him to come over, so Skipper set the plate of fish down and approached his first lieutenant.

"Skipper, your gut was right again," Kowalski said as he held out the phone receiver. "Here, you better take this."

With Kowalski still standing next to him, Skipper took the phone into his flipper and placed it to his earhole. "This is Skipper," he spoke. "Who are you, and what's your trouble?"

"My name is Louise, and the trouble is my sister," said the voice on the other end of the line. "You see, we are penguins over at the Bronx Zoo, and she just laid an egg last night."

"Well, give her my congratulations," Skipper responded. "Anyway, what is the problem?"

"That is the problem, sir," Louise replied. "She wants to crush it."

"I'm sorry, I don't think I caught that," Skipper apologized. "It sounded like you said she wanted to crush her egg."

"That's exactly what I said, Skipper," Louise confirmed. "She doesn't want the chick."

Skipper paused for a moment as his heart sank. He looked to Kowalski for some type of reassurance, but Kowalski looked just as sickeningly worried as he felt. After a few seconds, Skipper spoke into the phone again. "Of all the things wrong with this world, abortion is one of the worst. It's the work of the devil."

"I know," Louise replied. "That's why I'm reaching out to you. My sister won't listen to me and I'm too weak to fight her, but your team is a legend in this city. The four of you are the only hope left for my unhatched niece or nephew. Please help, I beg of you."

"Ma'am, I promise you we will," Skipper replied. "We'll be there in half an hour."

"Thank you, sir," Louise replied. "And God bless you."

"You, too, ma'am," Skipper said as he hung up the phone. "Goodbye."

Skipper then looked to Kowalski. "Kowalski, I'm giving you permission to slap me to wake me up from this bad dream," he said.

"If only it were but a simple nightmare, sir," Kowalski replied. Kowalski then looked over at Private sitting at the table, oblivious to the nature of what his next mission would be. "Poor Private, this one is sure to break his heart," he said with a sigh.

"It breaks _my_ heart, Kowalski," Skipper replied. "I can't think of anything more un-penguin."


	2. Always

It took the penguins a short time longer to reach the Bronx Zoo than the 30 minutes Skipper had expected it to take. The team was delayed 15 minutes when Marlene dropped by the HQ to see what was new with her friends like she routinely did, only this time she nearly went feral for the first time _inside of_ the zoo when she was told about the situation across town. Needless to say Marlene also objected to egg-crushing, and it took more than a little reassuring before she agreed not to follow the penguins into the next borough to administer some wild otter justice of her own.

Once the penguins did reach the Bronx Zoo, they quickly made their way to the habitat of their fellow flightless Aves.

While Skipper's men were of the Classified species, the penguins of the Bronx Zoo were Magellanic penguins. With their differences in plumage, Louise quickly spotted the team and waddled over to them. "I'm the one who sent for you," she said. "I wish we had time for a more cordial introduction, but we haven't a moment to lose."

Louise then led the team across the penguin habitat to a rock display, in front of which sat Norma, Louise's sister. "Norma, there are some guys here who would like to help you," Louise said as she and the team cautiously approached her. "They're from Manhattan, and they want you to avoid making a decision you'll live to regret just as much as I want you to avoid making it."

"I've already taken care of the problem, so you're wasting your breath," Norma responded harshly.

"What?" Louise asked in shock. "No, no, you couldn't have."

"Louise, I threw it in the water, OK?" Norma replied. "Like I told you, I never wanted that egg to begin with."

Kowalski turned to Skipper in panic. "Skipper, even if that egg is still intact, the water temperature is far too cold for the unhatched chick to last very long," he said. "We've got to get it out of there right now."

Skipper nodded, and he and Kowalski made a dash for the water. But by the time they dove in, an enraged Norma was right behind them.

"Come on!" Louise shouted to Private and Rico. "We've got to find that egg before she does!"

The three waddled toward the water as fast as their penguin feet would allow, only to find Norma had already made it back to the surface, with the egg on the ground and her foot inches away from doom. Louise covered her eyes, not wanting to witness the imminent act.

Fortunately, the horror never came to be.

"Never!" Rico declared as he fell to his belly and shot out his tongue toward the egg in the same fashion Spider-Man would with a web, scooping the egg to safety at the last possible second.

"Yes!" Private shouted in relief as Rico began to pull his tongue in.

After stuffing his tongue back into his mouth, Rico looked the egg over. He found not a scratch on it, to which he smiled as he patted the top of it with a flipper before handing the egg over to Louise.

"I hate you all!" Norma yelled as she charged in the direction of the three. "Now give me back that egg, Louise, or you'll be the one with something to regret!"

As a fire-eyed Norma got closer, Rico hacked up a crowbar just in case the situation turned violent—Louise, Private, and the fragile egg had to be protected, after all. But fortunately, Norma never got close enough for there to be an altercation.

"Hold it right there, missy," Skipper stated as he and Kowalski approached Norma from behind and took hold of her by the flippers. "You are outnumbered, and you're not getting any closer to your sister or the future little one unless you go through me. Do we have an understanding?"

"All right, fine, keep the blasted egg!" Norma declared. "Boil it for all I care, just take your flippers off of me!"

"Don't worry, I will," Skipper replied. "Just as soon as you've learned your lesson."

"I don't know what you freaks are trying to accomplish," Norma declared. "You have no right to detain me."

"Correct you are," Skipper replied. "That's why this isn't a detention—it's an intervention. Besides, have you forgotten that this is penguin society? We tend to all be a little unorthodox—you, me, and anyone else that waddles."

"You guys are ridiculous," Norma protested. "You've got the egg, so what do you still want with me?"

"I'm hoping we can show you the error of your ways and convince you to see the issue in a different light," Skipper answered.

"So you want to brainwash me?" Norma questioned.

"I want to confront you with the truth so you can make your own decision," Skipper responded. "All I ask is for you to hear us out. If after all our efforts you are still not convinced, we will leave you to your own twisted sense of moral relativism."

"Fine. Whatever it takes to get you guys to leave," Norma stated. "Go, get on with it."

Skipper and Kowalski then released their grips on Norma, confident that she would stay put.

"Very well," Skipper then said as he and Kowalski walked in front of her. "Let me begin with the most basic yet most important question: When does life begin?"

"What kind of a question is that?" Norma objected. "We're here, aren't we? It doesn't have a beginning or an ending: it just is."

"She doesn't respect science, Skipper," Kowalski turned to his commander and spoke. "Norma has obviously never witnessed cell division under a microscope."

"Indeed not," Skipper agreed, then looked back to Norma. "Judging from your response, I think it's safe to assume that you consider the egg devoid of all life."

"Yeah," Norma replied, rolling her eyes. "Some silly cells contained in a shell _aren't_ penguins."

"OK," Skipper continued, "then let's work in reverse chronological order, shall we? If you were to push me to the ground right now and assassinate me, would that be wrong?"

"Yeah, it'd be wrong," Norma replied. "That would be a crime."

Overhearing the discussion and sensing where Skipper was going with it, Private waddled over to join in. "How about me instead, Norma?" he asked. "I'm much younger than Skipper is."

"That would be wrong, too," Norma replied.

"Well, how about a chick five minutes out of the egg?" Skipper continued. "Surely you'd feel no guilt about smashing him."

"No, no," Norma answered. "I couldn't do that."

"A day before he hatched?" Skipper pressed.

"Still no," she answered.

"Then how about a week?" Private continued.

"Um ..."

"Ten days?"

"Well ..."

"Eleven? Twelve? Thirteen?" Private continued passionately. "Where do you draw the line, Norma? Where do you draw the line?"

"Oh, come on!" Norma objected. "You guys are just trying to confuse me!"

"No, you're confusing yourself with your double standards," Skipper answered. "Tell me: How many feathers does an unhatched chick need to have before you consider it a living thing?"

"I ... I ... I," Norma tried to reply as she turned away from Skipper, "I don't know."

"And that I'd call a breakthrough," Skipper said with a slight smile. "A small one, but still a breakthrough."

"Well, when do you consider it a living thing?" Norma inquired.

"It's not my opinion you should be asking; it's only God's that matters," Skipper replied. "Life begins at conception, and that's all that there is to it."

"But there's nothing really there at that point," Norma stated.

"Oh, you'd be surprised how quickly things begin to take form," Kowalski responded. "Trust me, if you were to see some of the things I've seen in medical textbooks, you'd see the light faster than you could say 'pro-life.'"

"Then I think that has to be our next step, Kowalski," Skipper said solemnly. "She needs to see both the joy and the heartache."

"I concur," Kowalski replied. "If we can gain undetected access to one of the zoo's administrative offices, I believe we can use the Internet to find something suitable."

"Should I come, too?" Private asked. "And how about Louise and Rico?"

Skipper had to rationally think that one over for a moment, but he soon gave his reply. "Yes, Private, we all should go."

About 10 minutes later, 6.5 penguins—Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, Private, Louise, Norma, and the egg—entered undetected into one of the zoo's offices. There, Skipper and Kowalski proceeded to the nearest computer, while the others stood behind them a short distance away.

After just a few minutes of searching Google, Kowalski located a PowerPoint presentation he felt would get the message across to Norma. Skipper agreed—they both had seen the thumbnails.

"Norma, we're ready for you now," Kowalski turned around and said.

"Well, all right," Norma replied as she waddled over. "You can show me whatever you want, but I still don't agree with you guys completely."

Once Norma was next to him, Kowalski clicked with the mouse to begin playing the slideshow. He then pointed at the screen with a flipper. "To begin, I must first tell you that these are not images of unhatched penguin development," he explained. "They are instead of unborn human development, but I still find them fascinating. Anyway, this first slide shows a multi-celled human egg shortly after conception." He then pressed the right arrow key to proceed to the next slide. "And here we are after four more weeks. Notice the labels indicating the locations of the little one's developing organs, including its liver, heart, and brain." The scientist then advanced to the third slide, followed by several others. "As the weeks continue to pass, you can notice other things beginning to take form," he said as he continued along.

"That looked like a little foot," Norma commented as she pointed at one of the slides.

"It was," Kowalski replied. "Good observation." He then proceeded to show and explain several more slides in the presentation. "As you can probably tell by now, the developing baby looks more and more human-like as each week goes by, only much smaller."

"Wow," Norma suddenly commented. "You know, I have to admit that all these photos are pretty cute."

"Indeed they are," Kowalski agreed. "But not everything is such a pretty picture."

As Kowalski then advanced to the next image in the presentation, Norma gagged and dropped to her knees. "My God, what happened?" she asked in shock as she observed the small, bloody, human-shaped image on the screen. "Was there a terrible accident? A fall? Some horrific disease?"

"I take it that you don't enjoy looking at the aftermath of your 'right,' do you?" Skipper inquired.

"What?" Norma responded, confused.

"That haunting image didn't result from some grisly accident, Norma," Skipper continued as he pointed to the screen. "Nor was it a fall or a disease. What really happened? It was convenience!"

"But how—?" Norma began, but she soon realized exactly what Skipper had meant.

As tears began to form in her eyes, she began to back away from Skipper. But he soon waddled over to her and placed a flipper on her shoulder. Calmly, he spoke. "Your mother chose life, Norma—his didn't. You ought to tell your mother 'thank you' the next time you see her."

With that, Skipper waddled away from Norma and motioned for the others to do the same. There was not much more that any of the five could do than they had already done; all that was left was to leave Norma to reflect and examine her soul.

It didn't take very long before Norma knew what she had to do. Suddenly, she rose back onto her feet and looked upward toward the sky and quietly whispered a few words. She waddled over to Skipper when she was through. "My mother died two years ago, so I had to thank her in Heaven," she said to him as she smiled. "And in my heart, I heard her say, 'You're welcome' in reply." She sniffled and wiped a tear away, then continued with her testimony. "I get it now. I understand how fragile life is—I wish the world would, too."

"Someday, Norma," Skipper assured her as he patted her back with a flipper. "Someday."

Norma then left Skipper and waddled over to her sister. What she asked next was the final act of her transformation. "My egg, Louise, can I see it? Can I hold it? Oh, please, I want to hold it so badly."

Just a short time ago, Norma was the last one Louise would trust with that precious egg. But as she looked at the penguin team smiling and trying to hold back their tears, Louise knew that her sister had made a true conversion.

"Of course you can hold it," Louise smiled as she handed Norma the egg. "This is your child, after all. I'm just an aunt."

"Thank you, Louise," Norma replied as she then looked at the full group. "Thank you, everyone."

With tears in her eyes, Norma then cradled the egg within her flippers and then brought them up close to her face. "I don't think that you can hear me in there, but I still want you to know that I'm sorry," she said. "I can't believe that I almost destroyed you, but I promise you that my heart has changed." Norma then transferred the egg into a single flipper. "I love you," she said as she carefully kissed her egg. "And Mommy always will."


End file.
